1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for marketing information services to potential customers. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for introducing potential customers to information services having a voice-based interface.
2. The Prior State of the Art
In general, marketing is a deliberate process of introducing goods and services to potential consumers. The type of marketing that may be appropriate for any given situation depends largely on the goods and services being offered, the demographics of the potential or target consumers, and the amount of capital allocated to the effort. For example, running late afternoon radio and television advertisements may be ideal for a national fast-food restaurant chain, yet sub-optimal for telephony-based information services.
Nevertheless, most marketing strategies, to one degree or another, have at least one element in common: the need for endorsement. Athletes, musicians, actors, models, physicians, authors, commentators, academicians, educators, politicians, neighbors, friends, family, and in truth, almost anyone, can provide endorsement for a product or service. Naturally, some endorsements are more effective than others, but fame and notoriety may not necessarily be the most significant characteristic, especially when factoring in the expense of securing a celebrity endorsement. In some circumstances, neighbors, friends, family, personal acquaintances, or even a stranger making a similar purchase may all provide endorsement that is highly effective without expense.
Not all endorsements, however, need be explicit. Rather than commenting on the quality or other advantages of a product or service, an endorser's mere use may provide significant value. For example, one common form of implicit endorsement is the placement of products and services in motion pictures. Another common form of implicit endorsement involves athletes wearing shoes, clothing, and accessories, all having a prominently placed manufacturer's logo or other identifier. This type of implicit endorsement allows the endorser to accomplish a primary task, such as making a movie or playing a basketball game, without the endorsement interfering with the task. Of course, implicit endorsements are unlikely to be any less expensive than a corresponding explicit endorsement.
Perhaps the most significant value of implicit endorsement occurs when each consumer of the product or service seeking attention, makes the endorsement. Logos or other identifiers on clothing, automobiles, shoes, watches, sporting equipment, etc., transform consumers into endorsers. Moreover, depending on the current vogue, most consumers are willing if not anxious to participate, at times paying a premium for the opportunity.
A significant portion of implicit endorsement's impact can be attributed to the social nature of people. In other words, implicit endorsement is a viable marketing tool because people interact. To the extent that a product or service is identified, an increased number of interactions yields increased endorsement. Unfortunately, implicit endorsement typically requires in-person interaction because the logos and other identifiers leading to implicit endorsement are visual.
In an Internet context, one example of the marketing potential that is available through implicit endorsement is the e-mail service provided by Hotmail. Hotmail offers e-mail accounts that are free for the asking. In exchange, each e-mail sent by Hotmail includes a short reference to the free e-mail account offer and how one could obtain further information. Each e-mail sent or, in other words, each interaction, is an implicit endorsement that the sender approves of the Hotmail service. Within a relatively short time period, Hotmail has attracted an extremely large number of users, and eventually the business sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. Once again, however, the implicit endorsement successful in promoting Hotmail required a visual message.
The visual contact frequently required for implicit endorsement leaves many interactions between people unexploited as marketing opportunities. Specifically, during the course of any given day, a person may interact with far more people through telephone conversations than in person. Furthermore, as telephones have become increasingly portable, both in terms of reduced size, making them more convenient to carry, and in terms of improved coverage, making them almost universally available, telephone use and interaction have increased as well. During recent years, a large number of secondary or value-added telephone services have been developed. These include voice mail, voice messaging, call waiting, caller ID, answering services, conference calling, unified messaging services. Such secondary telephone services have benefited consumers by increasing the convenience of using the telephone, and have also benefited the companies that provide the services with increased revenue opportunities.
Likewise, as evidenced by the Internet's explosive growth, people are interacting through the Internet in ever increasing numbers. In many cases, the telephone and the Internet may provide the primary social interaction between people who are separated only by relatively insignificant geographical distances. Moreover, providing telephone access may be beneficial to a wide range of information-oriented businesses. In some ways, telephone and Internet technologies have begun to merge, with Internet telephone services, unified messaging services, and the like, all being developed or offered to consumers. However, in order to market these services, telephone and Internet enterprises have traditionally relied on conventional print, broadcast, or digital media. What is lacking in the prior art is an effective method for marketing an information or telephony service with a voice-based interface.